Carton blank aligning apparatus

ABSTRACT

A CARTON BLANK ALIGNING APPARATUS INCLUDING A NUMBER OF PLOWS SUPPORTED IN A PARALLEL SPACED RELATION ON EACH SIDE OF FILES OF CARTON BLANKS BEING CONVEYED IN A SHINGLED RELATION ON A CONVEYOR, THE PLOWS BEING SUPPORTED FOR VIBRATORY MOTION ON A PAIR OF LEAF SPRINGS. A VIBRATING DEVICE IS USED TO VIBRATE THE PLOW SUPPORT TO REALIGN THE EDGES OF ANY CANTED CARTON BLANKS WITH THE EDGES OF THE FILES. A RAMP IS PROVIDED IN THE CONVEYOR TO ELEVATE THE LEADING EDGE OF THE CARTON BLANKS AS THEY MOVE BETWEEN THE PLOWS, AND A ROLLER IS USED TO AID THE MOVEMENT OF THE BLANKS AS THEY ENTER THE SPACE BETWEEN THE PLOWS.

June 6, 1972 P. ZERNOV 4ETAL 3,667,751

CARTON BLANK ALIGNING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 2, 1970 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 June6, 1972 P. ZERNOV ETAL 3,667,751

CARTON BLANK ALIGNING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 2, 1970 3 Sheets-Sheet 8United States Patent fice 3,667,751 CARTON BLANK ALIGNING APPARATUSPeter Zernov, Wauwatosa, Thomas H. Gabel, Menomonee Falls, and Norman C.Abler, Wauwatosa, Wis., assignors to Zerand Corporation, New Berlin,Wis.

Filed Dec. 2, 1970, Ser. No. 94,481 Int. Cl. B65h 9/04 US. Cl. 271-49 16Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A carton blank aligning apparatusincluding a number of plows supported in a parallel spaced relation oneach side of files of carton blanks being conveyed in a shingledrelation on a conveyor, the plows being supported for vibratory motionon a pair of leaf springs. A vibrating device is used to vibrate theplow support to realign the edges of any canted carton blanks with theedges of the files. A ramp is provided in the conveyor to elevate theleading edge of the carton blanks as they move between the plows, and aroller is used to aid the movement of the blanks as they enter the spacebetween the plows.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Carton blanks are generally conveyed infiles in a shingled relation from a cutting, scoring or printing machineto a stacker. Normally, a jogging type stacker is used which jogs thecarton blanks into a vertical stack as they come off of the conveyor.However, if any of the carton blanks are canted or skewed as they enterthe stacker, the skewed carton blank will cause the stacker to jamresulting in a loss of time due to shutdown and sometimes damage to theblanks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The carton blank aligning apparatus of thepresent invention is used to realign the edges of any canted or skewedcarton blank with the edges of the files prior to delivery of the cartonblanks to a stacker or any other apparatus for further operations. Thisapparatus includes a number of plows having downwardly angled leadingedges which form tips located just above the belts of the conveyor. Aplow is located along each edge of the files and is supported forvibratory motion on a pair of leaf springs. A pneumatic vibrator or aneccentric drive assembly is secured to the plow supports to vibrate theplows rapidly to realign any carton blanks which may be canted orskewed. A ramp is provided under the conveyor belt to elevate theleading edge of the carton blanks as they enter the space between theplows so that the carton blank does not go under the plow and to allowthe carton blank to drop downward between plows. If a carton blank iscanted, it will be vibrated into an aligned relation with the file. Theconveyor belt is S-wrapped around a pair of rollers provided at the endof the ramp to aid in moving each of the carton blanks into the spacebetween the plows. The roller above the conveyor belt is rotated counterto the direction of motion of the belts to prevent backup of the cartonblanks as they leave the ramp. Setup time has been reduced by making itspossible to set the plows on the support at a point remote from theconveyor.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdetailed description when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings.

3,667,751 Patented June 6, 1972 THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspectiveview of a portion of a conveyor showing the apparatus of the inventionmounted on the conveyor;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the conveyor of FIG. 1 showing two files ofcarton blanks being conveyed in a shingled relation;

FIG. 3 is a view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2 showing one of the leafsprings with a pneumatic vibrator attached to the outside of the leafspring and the quick relief attachment for the cross bar on the insideof the leaf spring;

FIG. 4 is a view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2 showing the adjustmentassembly for aligning the plows on the conveyor;

FIG. 5 is a side view in elevation of FIG. 1 showing the carton aligningapparatus of this invention showing an alternate vibrating assembly forthe plows;

FIG. 6 is a view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5 showing the modifiedvibrating assembly;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 6 showing theeccentric drive for vibrating the plows; and

FIG. 8 is a view taken on line 88 of FIG. 2 showing the roller supportassembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The carton aligning apparatus 10 of thepresent invention is used in conjunction with a belt type conveyor 12 tostraighten the edges of files 14 of carton blanks 16. The conveyor 12generally includes a frame 18 formed by a pair of side channel members20 connected by plates 22 and supported on a number of legs (not shown).A roller 26 (only one shown) is journalled for rotation on each end ofthe frame 18 and a number of belts 28 are mounted on the rollers 26 andare supported by the plates 22 to form the belt type conveyor 12. Theconveyor can be driven by any conventional means connected to either ofthe rollers 26. The conveyor as contemplated herein is used to convey anumber of files 14 of carton blanks 16 in a shingled or overlappingrelation to a stacker. Such conveyors are generally positioned at thedischarge end of cutting, scoring and/or printing machines whichdischarge the carton blanks 16 continuously onto the conveyor formovement to a stacker infeed conveyor 25.

In accordance with the invention, means are provided on the conveyor 12for straightening the files or aligning the edges of any canted orskewed carton blanks 16 with the edges of the files 14. Such means is inthe form of a number of dividers 30 supported on a cross bar 32 in aparallel relation and closely adjacent to the edges of the carton blanks16 in each of the files 14. The cross bar 32 as seen in FIGS. 1 and 6includes a graduated scale 31 and is supported on the conveyor 12 bymeans of leaf springs 24 connected to each end of the cross bar 32 andsecured to the channel members 20.

Dividers More particularly as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, each of thedividers 30 is moulded in the form of a rectangular panel or plow 36having a rearwardly inclined edge 38 which tapers downwardly to form atip 40. A bevel 39 is provided on each side of the edge 38 to provide ameans for guiding the edges of any skewed carton blank into alignmentwith the edges of the files 14. The lower edge 42 of the plow 36 islocated in close proximity to the conveyor belts 28 but is spaced farenough not to interfere with the movement of the conveyor belts 28.

The plows 36 are supported on the cross bar 32 by means of C-clamps 44having hand screws 46 positioned for movement into engagement with thetop of the cross bar. It should be apparent that the plows 36 can bemoved transversely along the cross bar and can quickly and easily be setat the appropriate width to engage the edge of the file by aligning theplows 36 with the scale on the cross bar.

Plow adjustment assembly (FIGS. 2 and 4) Means are provided for movingthe plows 36 transversely a short distance if the files and plows 36 aremisaligned. Such means is in the form of an adjustable mounting assembly71. This assembly 71 includes a bracket 73 secured to the side member20. The leaf spring 24 is seated in a groove 77 in a slide block 79which is mounted for sliding movement on the bracket 73 and has athreaded aperture 81. The block 79 is moved toward and away from theside member 20 by means of a screw 83 which is journalled for rotationin the bracket 73 and threaded through the aperture 81 in the block 79.A hand wheel 75 is provided on the end of the screw 83.

The block 79 is guided on the bracket by means of a screw 85 threadedinto the block 79 and extending through a groove 87 in the bracket. Theblock 79 is locked in position on the bracket by a plate 89 mounted onthe screw 85 for movement into engagement with bracket 73. A hand wheel95 can be provided on the end of screw 85 to aid in seating the block 89against the bracket 73. Since both leaf springs 24 are moved by themotion of block 79, the movement of one of the springs 24 will bepartially offset by the motion of the other spring 24. In this regard,the plows 36 Will only move one-half the distance of movement of block79.

Disconnect assembly (FIGS. 1 and 3) Means are provided for disconnectingthe cross bar 32 from the leaf springs 24 to allow for set-up of theplows 36 on the cross bar 32 at a point remote from the conveyor 12.Such means as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3 is in the form of a clamp assembly33 secured to the inside surface of the leaf springs 24 by bolts 35. Inthis regard, the clamp assembly 33 includes a mounting block 37 having acentral rectangular opening 41 which is open on side 43. The opening 41is shaped to receive one end of the cross bar 32 which is pushed intothe mounting block through the open side 43. The end of the cross bar 32is seated against leaf spring 24 by means of a hand screw 45 having apointed end 47 which engages a recess 49 provided in the end of thecross bar 32. It should be noted that the recess 49 is conical in shapeand cooperates with the pointed end 47 of the screw 45 to cam the end ofthe bar 32 against the leaf spring 24.

Vibrating apparatus (FIGS. 1 and 3) The plows 36 are vibrated by meansof a pneumatic vibrator 74 as seen in FIG. 3 which is mounted directlyon one of the leaf springs 24 by the bolts 35. Any commercial- 1yavailable vibrator can be used for vibrating the plows 36. A Branfordvibrator has been used successfully operating at approximately 1750cycles per minute. In this type of vibrator the cycles and force of thevibration can be adjusted as desired. The vibrations are transmitteddirectly from the vibrator 74 to the cross bar 32 to vibrate the plows36.

The plows 36, as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 can also be vibrated by meansof an eccentric drive assembly 48 connected to the end of the crossshaft 32 by a lever arm 50. In this regard, the lever arm 50 ispivotally mounted on a bracket 52 located on the side of the channelmember 20 and is pivotally connected to the end of the cross shaft 32 bymeans of a pivot pin 34. The lower end of the lever arm 50 is pivotallyconnected to a link 56 by a pin 55. The link 56 is connected to theeccentric drive assembly by an eccentric shaft 58 which is journalledfor rotation in a bearing 60 provided in a bracket 52 on the bottom ofthe frame 18 and extends through an aperture 59 in the end of the link56. The eccentric shaft 58 is driven by means of a pulley 64 mounted ona pulley shaft 65 which is connected to the eccentric shaft 58. Itshould be noted (FIG. 7) that the axis 63 of the pulley shaft 65 isoffset from the axis 67 of the eccentric shaft 58. The eccentric driveassembly is driven by means of a motor 68 having a drive pulley 70operatively connected to the pulley 64 by a belt 72. In the embodimentshown, a motor operating at 1750 r.p.m. has been used to producevibrations through the link 56 and lever arm 50 and the plows 36.

Ramp

The carton blanks are fanned or separated prior to dropping between eachpair of plows 36 by means of an inclined ramp 76 which is secured to theframe members 20 in a transverse relation to the direction of motion ofthe belts 28. The ramp 76 is positioned beneath the belts 28 so that thebelts drop oif the end of the ramp as they pass below the plows 36. Asthe carton blanks 16 move off the end of the ramp 76, the leading edgewill normally drop free between the plows 36. If the blank 16 is canted,the leading side edge will drop against the beveled edge 39 of the plowand will be guided back into alignment with the files 14. The movementof the carton blanks back into alignment with the files is aided by thevibratory motion of the plows when the carton blank engages the bevelededge 39.

In the event that the leading edge of the carton blank does not drop otfthe beveled edge of the plow, means are provided at the upper end of theleading edge 38 to guide or push the carton blank back in between theplows. Such means is in the form of a flange 80 molded on the sides ofeach of the plows 36. The guide flange 80 extends downward at an angletoward the conveyor to force the leading edge of the carton blankbetween the plows 36.

The carton blanks 16 and belts 28 are pressed downward onto the ramp 76to assure proper separation of the blanks as they drop off the end ofthe ramp 76 by means of an idler roll 78 provided at the end of the ramp76. The idler roll is supported on the end of an arm 93 which ispivotally connected by a shaft 82 to a pair of brackets 84 secured toeach side of the frame 18. The idler roll can be adjusted with respectto the ramp 76 by sliding the idler roll on the arm 93 and securing itin position by means of a set screw 97.

Guide roller assembly Means are provided for aiding the movement of thecarton blanks 16 as they leave the end of the ramp 76. Such means is inthe form of a pair of rollers 86 and 88 positioned at the end of theramp 76. The roller 86 is located at the end of the ramp 76 beneath thebelts 28 and is knurled so that it is driven by the motion of theconveyor belts 28. The roller 88 is located in a parallel spacedrelation to the roller 86 and is driven in the same direction ofrotation as the roller 86 by means of a gear assembly 100 as describedbelow. The belts 28 are S- wrapped over the roller 86 and under theroller 88 and therefore move in a direction counter to the direction ofrotation of the roller 88. As the carton blanks 16 move from the ramp 76and onto the surface of the roller 88, the roller 88 which is rotatingcounter to the direction of motion of the belt will carry the cartonblanks into the space between plows 36. The carton blanks will then dropbetween the plows 36.

In this last regard, the rollers 86 and 88 are journalled for rotationin brackets 90 provided on each side of the conveyor 18. Gears 92 and 94of equal diameter are secured to the ends of the rollers 86 and 88respectively. An idler gear 96 is positioned to transfer the motion ofthe roller 66 and roller 88. As noted above, the roller 86 is knurledand is driven by the movement of the belts 28. The

roller 88 is smooth and is driven at the same speed as roller 86.

Roller support (FIG. 8)

Means can be provided for supporting the center of the rollers 86 toprevent bending of the roller into engagement with the surface of plate22. In this regard, it should be noted that the belts 28 impose adownward force on the rollers 86. The roller 86 is therefore supportedby a pair of idler wheels 102 journalled for rotation in plates 104which are secured to the plate 22.

Resum The apparatus of the present invention provides for therealignment of any skewed carton blanks with the files on the conveyor.The plows are molded from a lightweight plastic material which makes itpossible to assemble the plows on the cross bar at a point remote fromthe conveyor. The cross bar can then be easily assembled on the conveyorresulting in a minimum loss of shut down time in operating the conveyor.Minor adjustments in setting the plows can be made by the adjustmentassembly 71 What is claimed is:

1. A mrton blank aligning apparatus for aligning files of carton blanksbeing conveyed in a shingled relation on a belt type conveyor, saidapparatus comprising:

dividers positioned on the sides of each file of carton blanks on theconveyor,

means for temporarily detaching said carton blanks from the file forfreedom of movement into the space between said dividers,

means for supporting said dividers for vibratory motion,

and means for vibrating said supporting means to realign the edges ofany canted carton blank with the edges of the files.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein each of said dividers hasa downwardly tapered leading edge, said edge being beveled toward thefiles of carton blanks.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 including means on said dividersfor guiding the carton blanks downwardly toward the files.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said detaching meansincludes means for elevating the front edge of the carton blanks priorto movement into the space between the dividers.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said detaching meansincludes a high speed idler roll to accelerate the movement of thecarton blanks as they leave said elevating means.

6. The apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said elevating meanscomprises an inclined ramp located beneath the conveyor and saiddetaching means comprises an idler roll positioned at the end of theramp.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said supporting meansincludes a pair of leaf springs mounted on each side of said conveyor.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said vibrating meansincludes an eccentric drive assembly peratively connected to saidsupport means.

9. A carton blank aligning apparatus for aligning the edges of cartonblanks being conveyed in a shingled relation in files on a belt typeconveyor, said apparatus including:

a cross bar,

a number of plows mounted on said cross bar in a parallel spacedrelation, each of said plows being positioned to engage the edges ofeach file of carton blanks on the conveyor and having a downwardlytapered edge beveled toward the files,

means for supporting said cross bar for vibratory motion transverse tothe direction of motion of the files of cartons,

and means for vibrating said plows to align the edges of any cantedcarton blanks with the edges of the files.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9 including an inclined ramppositioned beneath the belt on the conveyor and spaced from the leadingedge of said plows to elevate the carton blanks prior to entering thespace between the plow.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10 including a pair of rollerspositioned at the end of the ramp, one of said rollers being positionedabove the belt and rotated in a direction opposite to the direction ofmovement of said belts to aid in moving the carton blanks into theplows.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11 wherein the other of saidrollers is positioned beneath the belt between the end of said ramp andsaid one of said rollers.

13. The apparatus according to claim 9 wherein each of said plowsincludes a downwardly inclined flange to direct the edges of any cantedblanks downwardly toward the file of carton blanks.

14. The apparatus according to claim 9 including means for releasablysecuring said cross bar to said supporting means.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14 wherein said supporting meansincludes a pair of leaf springs.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15 including means for adjustablysupporting one of said leaf springs whereby said plows can betransversely adjusted.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,361,426 1/ 1968 Pawlikowski etal. 271-49 X 50 3,193,080 7/1965 Speaker 198-30 X 3,469,672 9/1969Statske et al 19830 2,192,518 3/ 1940 Eissmann 198-30 3,388,906 6/1968Attwood et al 271-89 EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner B. H. STONER, JR.,Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 271-59, 89

